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Letter: Law enforcement is essential

By Kenneth Alexander, Camas
Published: October 7, 2020, 6:00am

Recent calls to have U.S. cities defund their police force sound similar to calls for the U.S. government to defund the United Nations and World Health Organization. The far left and the far right use similar strategies intended to weaken or eliminate any public service they take issue with, and neither has a real chance to succeed in solving the problems, causing such demands to arise.

The real issues with the ongoing problems of law enforcement in the U.S. have been documented for some time: increased militarization of police and placing expectations on law enforcement that are both unrealistic and overreaching. Law enforcement is an essential public service for all levels of government, and right now the far right is seizing on the fact that this critical and essential public service is under attack by the far left.

But it is also under attack by the far right, by goading law enforcement to become even more militant and violent. It is saddening that too many in law enforcement fail to see that when deciding to be judge, jury and executioner that they are not operating within the bounds of their duties, making them less credible to the citizens they serve.

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